Usagi winced as she walked across the landscape, the rocks and debris hurting her feet. She wished she had shoes but the heels would have been impossible to walk in. Besides, the ground was becoming smoother. It was smooth enough she could run to the palace, but she needed to conserve her energy. Without her power, she was almost defenseless. Rubeus told her they would wait until she was halfway to the palace before letting Esmerald go after her. He said if they told her she could begin attacking at the halfway point, then she'd wait until then. Rubeus doubted Esmerald would agree to wait any longer than that. So, Usagi walked and while she walked, she thought about everything.

How was she going to explain willingly going with Prince Diamond? That was the easiest to figure out among all the other thoughts going through her mind. At the time, his story made sense and he had requested discretion. The other things she had no clue about. How was it possible to share dreams? Why was she sharing dreams with Tuxedo Kamen? She still needed to talk to him about it. Why was she now dreaming of him disappearing and a voice similar to her own telling her to stay away? Usagi winced, stumbling as she stepped on a sharp rock.

She wondered if Prince Diamond was telling the truth about Chibiusa. He was correct about love between the Moon and Earth being forbidden, but was it because of magic incompatibility or because of rising tensions? Was he really from the Moon? Then there was the dream she had the first night after the time reset.

"You can't stay here like this. You need to choose. Them or me?"

It made sense for him to be the same man in the other dreams but she wasn't sure. The man could be Prince Diamond. Sighing, she knew she could say he made sense, but she really went with him because he might have been the man from that dream.

"Once you choose, there's no going back."

That scared her. What if she made the wrong choice? Suddenly, something exploded next to her. Usagi cried out as she was thrown sideways, her head banging against a larger rock. She didn't lose consciousness, but the splitting headache made her wish she had. Esmerald hovered in the air preparing another attack. Forcing herself to move, she tried to get up and in a better position to avoid the next attack. Hearing shouts, she looked and saw the senshi running toward Esmerald, ready to attack. Tuxedo Kamen and Sailor Venus were heading straight for her. When they got to her, he knelt, taking a closer look at the blood in her hair from hitting the rock while Sailor Venus guarded them and the other senshi fought Esmerald. "I can't transform and I don't know why." Tuxedo Kamen picked her up bridal style, running back to the palace while Sailor Venus continued to guard them. Once they were safely inside, Sailor Venus went back to help fight Esmerald.

Rubeus crossed his arms as he watched a projection of the battle. "Esmerald is getting sloppy. At this rate, she'll be defeated in no time."

Wiseman said. "Indeed. She has proven she has no control over her emotions. It will be a great loss for us if she is defeated, but it will be an even greater loss if we allow her to continue like this. Esmerald has become a threat to us and our mission." The hooded figure faced Prince Diamond. "I hope you are not going down the same path."

Prince Diamond shook his head. "I got in her head enough that she willingly came with me. She may have decided to leave, but I'm still in her head. Letting her leave with little incident puts us in a more positive light. The Spectre Sisters should already be in position in the 20th century."

Wiseman said. "Good." He stopped the projection of the battle and put his crystal ball away.

He disappeared and Rubeus said. "I don't like him. One day, I'm going to rip that hood off and make him show his face. Anyway, Prince, are you sure about letting Serenity go? She might tell the senshi."

Prince Diamond said. "Which is why I only told her about two of the four sisters. The two she doesn't know about will be the ones we stay in contact with." He was confident she would return to him. He felt the same way she did. Even though he had security, he had felt he was losing his mind living in a utopia called Crystal Tokyo. It was one reason why he joined the Black Moon Clan, the other being he didn't think people should have long life spans. He smiled. The Serenity he wanted was a healed version of the broken girl from the past. This time, instead of Endymion, he would be the one there for her and help her heal. His smile fell as Rubeus left the room. If she didn't return to him, he'd go to her. She would become his no matter what.

Usagi sat in a chair in front of the monitors of the control room, as Tuxedo Kamen finished healing the cut. "That should do it." She nodded as Tuxedo Kamen stepped back. "Prince Diamond must be a convincing liar to get you to go with him without saying a word to us."

Usagi slumped her shoulders. "I was going to tell you, but he asked me not to… and well, everything he said had made sense. Now I realize he was lying." She sighed when he asked what the prince had said. Glancing at the battle on the monitor and then at the King, she told them most of what happened.

King Endymion nodded. "He wanted to get rid of Esmerald and needed someone else to do it so he wouldn't risk losing his position as their leader." Looking at the monitor showing the battle, then looking back at her, he said. "Before all this happened, Serenity said she was going to try sending dreams to her past self to warn about the future. We were concerned the Black Moon Clan figured out how to travel through time. Have you had any weird dreams?"

Usagi remembered the dreams of Mamoru disappearing, but shook her head. "No, I haven't had any dreams warning me of the Black Moon Clan."

The King nodded. "I wondered if she had been successful but I guess not."

She said. "I wonder why love was forbidden between the Earth and Moon. I know there was tension, but does their magic not blend well?"

Tuxedo Kamen said. "There had never been a child of the Moon and the Earth. No one knew what kind of magic the child would possess or if they'd have none at all. I was discouraged from pursuing you because my parents didn't want to risk finding out while Beryl was building her army."

King Endymion nodded. "It's why Small Lady is the way she is. She should gain power, but we don't know when or if it will happen."

Usagi slumped her shoulders. Could Prince Diamond be telling the truth? What if those dreams are from her future self, warning her to not choose Endymion? Was she supposed to choose Prince Diamond instead? Just then, the senshi entered the room having defeated Esmerald. She shoved those thoughts aside and focused on the people in front of her as they bombarded her with questions. Sailor Mars asked what happened. Luna demanded to know why she went with Prince Diamond instead of talking to them, but it was the question Sailor Venus asked that silenced the room.

"Where did that dress come from and why are you wearing it?"

She sighed, looking down at the dress. If she told them the truth, they'd begin bombarding her with questions and she didn't want that right now. "After I realized he lied, I planned my escape. Since I went willingly with him, I guess he wasn't expecting me to change my mind. I was able to find a closet and this was in it. My plan was to blend in long enough to escape and then transform, but the energy in that place kept me from transforming." Fiddling with the dress, she shook her head. "Turns out I chose poorly. This made me stand out even more but I couldn't change back and had to run. Well, you know what happened after that. As I got close to the palace, Esmerald attacked."

Sailor Mercury activated her visor and scanned Usagi. "Your energy levels are low, but I'm not detecting anything unusual. Whatever energy it was is most likely the same as those giant rocks out there. It's acting as some type of interference to our powers. For you to not have been able to transform at all means the negative energy there is significantly higher. Can you transform now?"

Usagi stood and transformed. She was relieved she could transform and even more relieved to be rid of that dress.

Sailor Mercury nodded. "This proves my theory. The concentration of negative energy was so high it prevents a senshi from transforming. This makes it extremely hard if we have to fight them on their turf. We have no idea if our transformation will be lost if we go there."

King Endymion said. "Losing Sailor Moon and now Esmerald, they'll probably need time to regroup. Go back to the past and rest. There cannot be more than one of a person in the same time for too long or damage will be done and the past doesn't need to be left unguarded. You can use Luna-P to stay in touch with me. I'll let you know if you need to come back."

Back in the 20th century, it was almost 10 PM. Tuxedo Kamen had left and the senshi were about to go their separate ways. Usagi used the disguise pen to wear the same clothes when her parents last saw her and the dress from Prince Diamond was a pile of ashes courtesy of Sailor Mars. Once they were detransformed and ready to go, Rei said. "Usagi, I'll tell your parents you were at the Shrine and lost track of time." Pulling out her phone to call them, she said. "I'll walk you home so they won't have reason to worry so much."

Minako wrapped her arms around Usagi's neck. "I'll walk with you too!"

Ami said. "Since Mrs. Tsukino thought you were a bad influence, she probably still thinks that this time around. I'll go instead."

Minako nodded. "Alright, then I'll walk Makoto home!"

Chibiusa sighed. It was a long walk home, made even longer by the awkward silence. She had been surprised at how well the senshi took the news of Tuxedo Kamen and Sailor Moon being her parents. Glancing at Usagi, she wondered how she would take the news. Usagi had still been in the hands of the Black Moon Clan when the senshi were told. She was brought out of her thoughts when Rei said. "I'll knock on the door."

Mrs. Tsukino thanked Rei for calling to let her know where Usagi had been and that she had been worried sick. Usagi knew that wasn't true. Her parents probably hadn't noticed her absence. After Rei and Ami left, Usagi made a sandwich as her mother went back to ignoring her and doted on Chibiusa. After eating, she said. "Come on, Chibiusa, time to go to bed." She said goodnight to her parents and went up the stairs.

Chibiusa was slightly confused but followed her up to her room, closing the door behind them. She was even more confused when Usagi began tossing things into a suitcase. "Usagi, where are you going?"

Usagi sighed. "You used Luna-P to trick my family into thinking you're a cousin who has been living here for two years." She crossed her arms as she faced the child. "Use it again to make them think I'm staying with a relative for the next week."

Chibiusa shook her head. "You need to stay here in case the Black Moon Clan attacks. We need to defeat them."

Usagi said. "The King said they need time to recuperate. I'll be back in time for Shingo's funeral. I have my communicator so if anything happens, the senshi can contact me." She needed to get away from everyone for a while. She needed to get her thoughts in order and figure out what to do. There was only one place she could go to truly be alone and not be disturbed.

The child asked. "Where are you going?"

Usagi shook her head. "None of your business."

Chibiusa crossed her arms glaring. "Then I'm not doing it."

Usagi clenched her fists, glaring. "Yes, you are."

Chibiusa stomped her foot, clenching her fists, mimicking Usagi's stance. "You can't make me."

Usagi breathed deeply and tried to speak with authority. "You dare talk back to your mother?"

Chibiusa slumped her shoulders, knowing she had lost. "I'll do it." Lifting her chin up, she added. "But only if you tell me where you're going." Chibiusa smiled as Usagi sighed. Maybe she hadn't lost after all and will find out where Usagi plans to go.

Usagi rubbed her forehead. The child was stubborn. "Fine. I'll tell you after you make them believe I'm staying with a relative in Fukushima and returning the day before Shingo's funeral."

Chibiusa grabbed Luna-P, and quickly got the job done. However, when she returned to the bedroom, Usagi was gone. She glared at the open window. Part of her wanted to undo what she just did so Usagi would get in trouble, but she didn't. She left the family thinking Usagi was in Fukushima and used Luna-P to contact the other senshi for a meeting at the Hikawa Shrine.